Stockholm Syndrome
by NeverDust
Summary: Some short stories. All Zuko, Katara, or Zutara.
1. Crash

Crash

By: Junsui Chikyuu

February 12, 2006

I felt the scars on his face. His beautiful face, marred with the power of all he sought. But never destroyed.

Ran my fingers over skin. soft.

And Tiger's eyes stared back at me. No expression. tense, waiting... confused?

Maybe.

I've always loved to push him off balance. It is my sweetest revenge.

But the tables are turning, slowly, beneath my feet. until finally at the sudden stop I stumble.

And crash.

into arms.

and chest.

and lips.

And it hurt.

It always hurts to fall

(even when it doesn't).

He pushes me to the edge and over and down.

... I never fall alone...

AN: Zuko x Katara OTP!

Okies, YAY! My first Avatar ficcies... I'm so happy, (even if it sucks) because I've been seriously envying all those wonderful writers (especially on the Zuko x Katara community) who have no made me an official Drabble-Whore. Thanks. Really.

And of course, for all future reference, thank you SO much to my betas Blooming Cosmo & One Silver Tear. They are the most awesomest buddies a person could ever ask for.

(This and next three fics have all been checked over and over again. The "mistakes" made were intentional. Just in case any one was wondering.)


	2. Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome

By: Junsui Chikyuu

February 12, 2006

The need to cry was overwhelming. The need to cling and hold and be allowed to be selfish for just a moment thrust its way to her so that the promise she'd made - to be strong, always, be the ideal warrior, _never_ show weakness - became inconsequent and she threw herself into the first pair of arms that came her way. She wouldn't have cared who it was at the time, but later... she would care later. When it'd been hours since she'd seen "her boys", possibly longer because she had no idea how long she'd cried and then sobbed herself to sleep in his warmth.

She woke up exactly where she said she'd never be... on his ship, held captive, weak.

But when she started to cry the guard sent for him...

And no matter how wrong it sounds, he managed to make everything all right.

Just by holding her.


	3. Find the Need to Care

Find the Need to Care

By: Junsui Chikyuu

February 12, 2006

So what?

So what if he saw her? So what if he knew her name?

So what if she liked the bad boys? So what if she could have anyone else?

So what if he was as pale as snow, white peaches, and she as dark as cinnamon, burnt cedar, caramel?

So what if he was a jerk? So what if she didn't like him at first?

So what if they were opposites? So what if no one approved? So what if he was the Sun and she was the Moon?

So what if it only started because of one angry kiss?

So what if it led to more?

So what if people said mean things? So what if that hurt? (Did it matter what they thought? That he could have done so much better? That they called her a whore?)

So what if people are angry and upset? So what if they stare? (Who cares?)

So what if they're happy together?

So what?


	4. Dilation

Dilation

By: Junsui Chikyuu

February 12, 2006

Whatever it was they had said they'd seen in her.. well, it wasn't there _now_.

The thought that each had lied was possible, but with Aang, improbable and Haru, impossible; Jet didn't count anymore (in more ways than thoughts). Even though she knew they'd each meant those words, Katara found that, no matter from whose lips they came, they did not move her. She wished she could say it broke her heart to break Aang's (but what heart did she have anyway?). It had hurt to hurt him but she wouldn't lie about such an important subject. Not for the world. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Only when Zuko, the-great-scarred-one, bane of her existence, Prince of Nastiness and Other Generally Unpleasant Things, began to mock her (lack of) choice did she begin to doubt herself. Should she have settled for Haru? For Aang? Was he the great love and powerful bender she was destined for? Somehow she doubted it. She doubted that her original feelings could be so wrong. Aang was like a little brother or cousin. Someone she liked and liked to be around. But to _kiss_ him? No.

She looked at Zuko, who looked back at her, clearly perturbed and rather pissed off at having been seemingly ignored.

"Answer me, you little slut!"

She stared at him, completely mystified by the thin lines of his lips, the bobbing of his throat, the swishing of his hair as he stomped up to her and grabbed at the collar of her robes and shook her, his scar, his eyes... His eyes were beautiful. Completely focused on her for the moment. And all of these random things together suddenly interested Katara very much - so much more than she was sure they had any right to.

"I said - "

"I heard you." There was a pause. "Why am I a slut?"

The prince blinked at this, as if he had no idea what she was on about or what he'd even said. His hands, still fisted in the cloth of her robes, trembled in anger and confusion as the nasty things he'd wanted to say to her curled up in his throat and would not come out.

His honor, he seemed to remind himself, would not let him destroy her own without proof - of which he had none nor wanted any.

She was sick, Katara noted to herself. Not sick and tired, but just sick. Because at that moment when Zuko glared at her he seemed very handsome _very handsome she thought_. And had she been in any sort of mind at all (especially her **right** mind) she might have shook herself of the compulsion. But tonight was a thoughtful night and she wasn't thinking particularly clearly.

She threw her head forward and pushed her full lips onto his thin ones. When he saw her move he tried to pull back fearing some form of attack. But even his reflexes weren't _that_ fast and when their lips touched he froze and his eyes widened so much that the gold was drowned in a sea of white.

AN: This was supposed to be way longer but I kinda lost my train of thought... So if I get the inspiration I'll finish but for right now it'll stay as is... Thank you.


	5. Marathon

Marathon

by: Junsui Chikyuu

April 7, 2006

... Prompts are evil... I did these as my allergies were tearing apart my mind... so please. Just destroy me quickly. Lol.

:Watches happily as the KataraZuko community eats her brain...:

Proud to present: Inspiration's Idea of a Sick Joke, Part I. Happy reading!

3. "The world is full of people running." –Elizabeth Swados

The world is full of people running. Running here, running there. Running to work and running off to bed where their dreams run away with them.

Ichiban:

A prince should never have to run anywhere. A servant should do any running necessary. But if necessary, a prince should walk with a purposeful stride. And if he ran, it would be into battle, defending his nation against the onslaught of the barbarian. A prince should never be found running away from his own sister. A prince should never need to flee the scene of a fight. He should never have to feel fire burn his legs and chest but know it's necessary and feel _fear_ and have to think _keep going keep going don't let them catch you_. Prince Zuko firmly believed that a prince found running was no prince at all. And it made the stitch in his side all the more painful.

Niban:

Her entire life was running. She fled her family, she fled oppression, she fled death... now, she fled him, but what he stood for right now, she could not know. When he cornered her, her mind retreated and her body mechanized the dance before every last drop faded away. And when he caught her, she escaped into his heat and his kisses. She stole away with her dreams and escaped until she felt nothing because if she felt anything she might break.

When she found them again, she ran away into the arms of another and eluded the truth that would shatter her mind with another man's kisses and cool warmth. She diverted the question because the question hounded her, nipped her ankles, made her go faster _push harder, damnit!_. Because facing the answer would mean stopping. And some fish die if they stop, y'know...

Sanban:

Prince Zuko was not a brave person. He was naive and idealistic and he knew what was 'right' from what was 'wrong'. But he never would have spoken up if he'd known the consequences. He would have convinced himself that because his father approved, it must be good, and amended his beliefs to accommodate this intrusion. Prince Zuko knew this. And like a man possessed he chased the Avatar, chased hope; he chased an illusion. Because really he knew he wasn't running after anything. He ran from the pain, the hurt, the shame. But mostly he ran from the guilt - of knowing he would have changed that moment in a heartbeat and not have cared as he lost himself along the way.

Yonban:

Katara was idealistic. One might have called her brave. Mostly, Katara was always a bit of a rebel. Her grandmother never knew where she got it from. She often said, "What are these words I hear? They come from no granddaughter of mine." When she tried to help with chores and only managed with minimal grace and efficiency, she'd hear the villagers 'tsk' and say, "Such a shame." and "Her mother was such a beauty, I wonder what might have happened..." When she tried to waterbend and was told, "It's just not lady-like, stop it right now. Your mother would have been so disappointed..." she made herself believe it wasn't true and that her mother would have loved the snow castle she'd built using her "magic". When they whispered about her temper, their words burned her ears but froze her blood. There are other ways to scar and other pains to run from. But Katara pretended that their words hadn't hurt. They didn't matter. She hid behind a distance of self-righteous anger and disbelief. And when the chance came to escape she used that anger to fuel her. She needed to run _need to get away from this place from these people from these words, lies all lies_. She would not be held down. She could not stay in one place. She needed to run, she needed to save; she needed to pretend that nothing else mattered. She refused to feel the hurt and fear. One might have called her brave...

O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!O!

- Bravery may involve (for my purposes) one of two things, according to the dictionary: 1. to be showy or make a big display; 2. to possess courage. Courage, by definition, is a state of mind that allows one to _face_ danger and fear. I was trying to get across that she was doing #1, but not #2. Just to clarify the double entendre. -


	6. Waiting to See a Fall

Inspiration's Idea of a Sick Joke, Part II

Waiting to see a fall...

4. "Hold on to nothing, as fast as you can." –Tori Amos

She grasped at wisps of dreams, hearing them tear with her weight. She couldn't stay like this for long... but it was all he had to offer her.

And she had no where else to go.


	7. Stranger Things I've Seen

Inspiration's Idea of a Sick Joke, Part III

Stranger things, I've seen

6. "I do desire we may be better strangers." – William Shakespeare

"Why won't you just _die_?" he screamed.

Katara blocked another stream of fire thrown her way. "And give you the satisfaction?" She panted. "Never."

Hours later and Katara was kneeling over Zuko, bruised and burned, but victorious. And crying.

"I wish I wasn't a water-bender. I wish I'd never found him. I wish I'd never left with him." She choked on a sob. "I wish I'd never met you."

His wide golden eyes seemed to beg her, _Please, don't say that._ But in the silence of only one heart beating, she just couldn't be sure.


	8. Mixing Work and Fun Never Turns Out Well

Inspiration's Idea of a Sick Joke, Part IV (the end)...

Mixing work with fun never turns out well...

7. "Such a muddy line between/ The things we want/ And the things we have to do." –Sheryl Crow

He wanted to choke her. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to swipe that silly smirk off her face with nothing but his hand. He wanted to fuck her (_over_) and make her bleed.

She needed to distract him. A minute, just a moment, to allow the others to escape. So when he grabbed her hands, just like the last time (wow, he _really_ needed to let go) she struggled to set him off balance and "slipped" in the mud at their feet. He landed on top of her.

He needed to hurt her. Needed to keep her down.

She needed him to see only her.

_Distraction, **distraction**; she was a distraction!_

Mouths collided. And the world screamed.


End file.
